MidwestMan

Barr vs Buchanan. The young upstart against the Callised vet. Every year there is that individual that dreams about being the next 4 timer. For a time, Gabe Arnold was making that prediction. Guess he will get a sample tonight. Going to be fun to watch.

125-Lilledahl by dec over Cruz. 3-0 PSU 134-Ayala by dec over Davis. 3-3 tie 141-Bartlett by dec over Rhodes. 6-3 PSU 149-SVN by dec over Parco. 9-3 PSU 157-Kasak by dec over Teemer. 12-3 PSU 165-Mesenbrink by Major over Caliendo. 16-3 PSU 174-Haines by dec over Kennedy. 19-3 PSU 184-Starocci by Dec over Arnold. 22-3 PSU 197-Barr by dec. over Buchanan via conditioning. 25-3 PSU . Hwt-Kirk by dec. over Keutter. 28-3 PSU. FINAL

Intresting comments concerning KO's return and getting to 100 wins. I'm curious if Mizzou will ever have another 100 win career wrestler. Remember when MU wrestled at Cliff Keen Vegas, Southern Scuffle, etc...? Now, less big tourneys with emphasis on duals and strategic wrestler participation. MU's been beat up for 2 years now and for damn sure not in the MAC anymore. This ship needs to be righted before it sinks. March is "nut cutting time". I hope the Tigers are not neutered.

OK, I'm chuckling, and with the current state of affairs, I need one. Always curious about what's coming next.

It will also be interesting to see where Moore will fit in with all the competition in the room. Mauger looks to be a career 125. Moore is a "head scratcher". His style is dangerous and unpredictable. Fun to watch, but can go south pretty quick. I wonder how much weight is an issue? Arizona State is kinda going through the same kind of year as Mizzou is, except they got 2 wrestlers bought by Iowa. It's the times we live in.

Exactly. Which program will have the deepest pockets to buy wrestlers going forward? Deep pockets of farmers vs deep pockets of energy sector. Gotta wonder what would happen if Walton family were U of Ark Little Rock fans. Sure glad the grandsons are mountain bike enthusiasts.

What? Mizzou doesn't get an invite? Tongue firmly in cheek.

Like we didn't see this coming? Bastida isn't seeing a whiff of that top Hwt step this year with the current "Hammers" at the top. I certainly don't want to see "INJURED" wrestlers doing more harm to their bodies, but please don't tell me that the injury exemption isn't getting gamed to the absolute max to put athletes in more advantageous scenarios to find the podium. Please bring back a 5 yr window of eligibility, regardless of your circumstances. Now that money incentives are on the table, along with a "toothless" NCAA because of the current state of ongoing litigation, the system just encourages programs mailing in one season to prepare for the next. Hard to be a loyal fan, and travel to home matches, etc... when you know this is what is going on. Injuries happen, and maybe it's just me, but seems like we are seeing waaaay too many season ending injuries.

Thanks to everyone that has chimed in. I enjoy reading your perspectives. I too have thought about how nice it would be to have a "lighter weight" coach in the room, and Waters would be a good one. There is just something about the "eye test" of watching the Mizzou duals, that something is missing with this team. Watch the dual replays and notice the lack of fire in the coaches sitting on the side, or even the other Tigers on the team bench/area. Just seems like zero emotion to me. And a little fire might help in those "close" matches the Tigers are losing. And I've stated it before, some of the Tigers just continue to do the same things over and over, losing close matches (Edmond now, Jacques past) and there doesn't seem to be any constructive corrective coaching to improve the strategy or technique. That's the kind of things I look for when grading the success of a coaching staff. When I coached, if I worked directly with a wrestler to make adjustments, do reps, etc... and then they continued to make the same choices on the mat, they found the bench until the "light turned on!" Call it tough love.

No, I don't think so. According to Smith, KO is dealing with some kind of ding and will be out of the lineup during January. Seems to be an on going theme in Tiger land.

Today was Alumni day in CoMo as the Tigers hosted Stanford. I'd sure like to be able to read their minds (alumnus) concerning the current state of the program. Is it "all" about injuries?

Congrats to Coach Clemson and the Maryland wrestlers. Alex was a good hire to get that program turned around and pointed in the right direction. Would love to have him back at Mizzou.

My pick. The N Iowa program optimizes gritty tough wrestling and Schwab, and staff, take good wrestlers and make them better. I just like their style and culture. Lot's of deserving mentions in the replies. It's always easier to win with the hosses, but give me those "Lunatic Fringe" programs that grind and believe themselves to wins. It's folktale wrestling to the core.

This! I thought this from the time I saw the possibility of a O'toole-Hanes match up in the duals. I've already stated how I think that match is going to go in another post. O'tool trains in Mizzou's room, Hanes trains in P.States.

As a cyclist, I've used all of the above, including pickle and beet juice, and chocolate milk/chocolate Yahoo. Fizzed out coke for a finish kick. A source of potassium certainly will help with cramping. I use bottles for road and gravel, which are easy to clean for mixes. Not so for long mtb races and using a bladder, or bottle combo. Some of the best cycling racers I know are former wrestlers. Grinding is grinding!